It was not just another game, but the managers of the New...

October 13, 1988|By Bruce Buursma, Chicago Tribune.

LOS ANGELES — It was not just another game, but the managers of the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers confessed to no undue jitters Wednesday before sending their teams to decide the National League pennant.

``There`s a kind of excited nervousness, but it`s not a paranoid nervousness. I`m like any other fan. I enjoy what`s going on out on the field during a championship game.``

The Dodgers` Tom Lasorda, meanwhile, said he had enjoyed a pregame feast on Chinese cuisine and even abandoned his traditional clubhouse pep talk.

``I didn`t have to talk to them today,`` he said. ``If they`re not up for this one, then I`m in the wrong business and they shouldn`t be in this game.`` Lasorda also contended that he felt no particular pressure coming into the decisive game. ``I`d rather be here than be home,`` he said.

Johnson, rumored to be in jeopardy of losing his job if the Mets don`t advance to the World Series, acknowledged that he has heard such speculation. ``I would hate to think that it would come down to one ballgame to decide that,`` he said. ``I like being on the field. I expect to be on the field next year, hopefully in New York.``

- Vice President George Bush, a first baseman during his college days at Yale, watched the game in the private box of Dodgers` President Peter O`Malley. The Republican presidential candidate, in Los Angeles for Thursday`s debate with Democratic opponent Gov. Michael Dukakis, exchanged long-distance thumbs-up gestures with Lasorda before the game.

- With their victory Wednesday, the Dodgers now have the most victories in league championship play over the years. Their 19 wins eclipse the 18 owned by the Baltimore Orioles.